ESA’s Earth Cloud Aerosol and Radiation Explorer (EarthCARE) satellite mission has been designed to make a range of different measurements aiming at quantifying cloud-aerosol-radiation interactions in order to correctly include them in climate and numerical weather forecasting models.
The satellite, launched on 29 May 2024, at 00:20 CEST, aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, embarks four different instruments: an atmospheric lidar (ATLID), a cloud profiling radar (CPR), a multispectral imager (MSI) and a broad-band radiometer (BBR) The two active instruments, ATLID and CPR, examine the atmosphere to collect data at a microscopic level, observing clouds, aerosols and precipitation. The two passive instruments (MSI and BRR), provide complementary optical and radiation measurements, necessary for scientific products.
Launch and Early Orbit Phase (LEOP) was successfully completed, followed by a six-month commissioning period, during which EarthCARE’s four instruments were gradually switched on, calibrated and their performances verified.
Details about the mission can be found at the EarthCARE mission page